NRW: ATM demolitions are becoming more and more dangerous
Created: 04/12/2022 18:29
By: Maximilian Gang
In recent months and years there have been more and more attacks on ATMs in NRW.
The perpetrators are now even more unscrupulous.
Cologne – This year there have already been over 150 demolitions of ATMs in North Rhine-Westphalia alone (as of 11/2022).
A clear upward trend can be seen: According to the BKA's status report, attacks in Germany have increased more than tenfold over the past decade.
By July 2022, the amount of damage in NRW was already over ten million euros, as the answer to a small inquiry in the state parliament revealed.
After a little more than half a year, the damage is almost as high as it was in 2020 as a whole - while the average number of cases has remained similarly high.
One reason for the higher amount of damage from the individual acts is a different approach by the perpetrators, which not only causes greater damage to buildings, but is also becoming more and more dangerous for people.
More than a quarter of the demolitions of ATMs in NRW
There used to be a bank branch here: the devastation shows the force that comes with an explosion.
© R.Priebe/dpa
The case numbers for the current year are "worrying", as the police spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia, Markus Niesczery, said when asked by 24RHEIN.
And he's right, because: NRW is particularly badly affected by the blasts.
In 2020, more than a quarter of the nationwide blastings were carried out here, as the situation report shows.
This is reported by 24RHEIN.
In the period from July to November 2022 alone, almost 50 ATMs were blown up – only in NRW.
In total, there were 328 ATM blasts in NRW in 2020 and 2021 - almost one every other day.
This includes:
In Steinfurt, an ATM was blown up in October.
A woman was in an apartment above the bank during the blast.
Also in October, several people destroyed a vending machine in Wermelskirchen.
During their escape, the perpetrators crashed into a crash barrier on the A1 near Cologne - and caused chaos and long traffic jams on the autobahn.
Automatic sprinklers were also at work in Bornheim in November.
The perpetrators probably fled on a scooter.
In December 2021, an ATM was also blown up in Erftstadt.
The police also found an unexploded explosive device in the bank.
In May, a machine in Castrop-Rauxel was blown up.
Because one of the suspects was holding a suspicious object, the police shot him in the leg.
In Duisburg, strangers blew up ATMs twice within a short period of time and fled on scooters.
Two videos of one of the crimes are circulating on social media, showing the perpetrators fleeing.
The perpetrators come mainly from the Netherlands, and mainly live in Utrecht, Rotterdam and Amsterdam.
This was the result of investigations by the LKA group for ATM demolitions EK Heat.
It is estimated that there are 500 to 700 different people, as reported by the NRW police.
In 2015 in particular there was a significant increase in blasting in NRW.
In the Netherlands, the police had developed a comprehensive prevention concept, which is why the perpetrators are now switching to Germany.
The Federal Ministry of the Interior speaks of a “displacement effect”.
The new choice of explosives is particularly frightening.
NRW Ministry of the Interior: "Have the potential to injure or even kill people"
ATM demolitions in Germany | |
|---|---|
Detected physical attacks in 2021 (thereof in NRW) | 579 (176) |
Blasting in NRW in 2022 (as of 11/2022) | more than 150 |
Damage caused by the explosions (as of 7/2022) | 10,660,737 euros |
Number of suspects (2021) | 124 |
Most common citizenship (2021) | Dutch (50.8 percent) |
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Until a few years ago, gas mixtures were mainly used to detonate ATMs.
However, in response to this practice, banks have increasingly built gas neutralization systems into their machines.
That is why the perpetrators are increasingly switching to solid explosives – and thus accept the devastating consequences: “The ruthless actions of the perpetrators, who increasingly use solid explosives, result in incalculable dangers to life and limb of bystanders and considerable damage to buildings,” says Niesczery .
In general, attempted or completed ATM demolitions represent an incalculable risk for uninvolved third parties and rescue and emergency services, as the ministry spokesman clarifies.
"The fact is, ATM demolitions are highly dangerous and have the potential to injure or even kill people."
But what is the Ministry of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia doing against the perpetrators?
Attacks on ATMs: NRW uses Soko to combat them
In April 2022, Herbert Reul's ministry set up a special commission to combat ATM blasts (Soko BEGAS).
According to Niesczery, this is made up of a multidisciplinary team of experts in the fields of repression, prevention, deployment and international cooperation.
With a clear task: "It is tasked with systematically bringing together all findings from these areas and identifying new or changed investigative and combating approaches".
Soko BEGAS has already initiated various developments with their findings, according to the spokesman.
This includes, for example, that bank employees and local residents are actively provided with victim protection offers.
In addition, based on the results, the exchange with particularly affected federal states and European countries has been intensified, as Niesczery explains.
The dialogue with the banking and credit industry has also been intensified.
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